5.  The applicant was born in 1967 and lives in Budapest.
6.  On 14 May 2010 the applicant, former Vice-Mayor of Budapest and former Member of Parliament, was arrested on charges of aggravated fraudulent breach of trust committed by misusing funds at the Budapest Transport Company. The police apprehended him shortly after he had lost his right to parliamentary immunity, when the new MPs elected in the 2010 general elections had been sworn in. Previously, in January and March 2010, criminal proceedings had been initiated against some of the Transport Company’s senior officials and a close colleague of the applicant, in the same context.
7.  In the prosecution’s ensuing motion to have the applicant detained on remand, the dangers of absconding and collusion were referred to.
8.  The defence argued that the applicant, although he had known for months about his highly probable indictment after losing his right to immunity, had not left the country. It outlined that the alleged corruption cases at the Budapest Transport Company had attracted intense publicity and that the applicant’s indictment was more than foreshadowed given the admissions made by the other suspects in the ongoing investigation. The applicant had denied several times the press rumours about his leaving the country, and on 11 May 2010 he had also indicated to the authorities his willingness to cooperate.
9.  The defence moreover submitted that, against this background, the applicant’s pre-trial detention was not justified and should be substituted with a less coercive measure if any was needed at all.
10.  On 17 May 2010 the Buda Central District Court ordered the applicant’s detention on remand, despite the defence’s request that house arrest be considered in its stead. Reiterating in essence the reasons in the prosecution’s motion, the court held that there was a danger that the applicant would abscond in the face of the serious charges, which was even more plausible given that he had sold a number of properties in his name. The court noted that an ‘element’ had occurred in the investigation pointing to the risk that the applicant might abscond by leaving the country; however, this circumstance was not specified. The court also held that because the applicant’s immunity had been removed only a short time before, several further steps of investigation were still outstanding and that therefore the risk of collusion or interference was real.
On 18 May 2010 the applicant’s lawyer appealed, again proposing the application of less stringent measures.
11.  On 26 May 2010 the Budapest Regional Court rejected the applicant’s appeal.
12.  The defence’s repeated requests to consult the case file with regard to the above-mentioned evidence were disregarded by the courts. The applicant’s further request lodged with the Central Investigation Prosecutor’s Office to consult the evidence was also rejected, and his complaint to the Chief Public Prosecutor against this remained unanswered. The applicant was not allowed to get acquainted with the relevant material of the investigation, and the evidence of his alleged intention to abscond has never been disclosed.
13.  The applicant’s pre-trial detention was repeatedly prolonged at the statutory intervals. In these proceedings, the arguments of the defence remained largely the same, supplemented by the fact that the applicant’s health condition had deteriorated. However, it does not appear that the courts assessed, in an individualised manner, the applicant’s personal circumstances. The defence’s fresh arguments to demonstrate the unlikelihood of the applicant’s intention to abscond, in particular the fact that the applicant had paid off a debt of 16 million Hungarian forints some months before his accusation, did not impress the courts, either. Nor did the courts assess the arguments raised by the defence to the effect that the applicant, an influential former politician, had not even attempted to conceal evidence or connive with witnesses, so that any fears of collusion were unfounded.
14.  The applicant’s further requests, of 9 June and 30 July 2010, for release or for a less coercive measure were to no avail. The defence repeatedly stressed the absence of concrete elements underlying the detention and the disregard for the applicant’s personal circumstances, most importantly his serious health problems. The courts rejected these arguments in rather stereotyped decisions, mainly arguing that a severe sentence was impending.
15.  Detained at Budapest Penitentiary, the applicant spent over 4 months in cells with 3.52 m2 and another 4 months in cells of 4.7 m2 ground surface per person, including fixtures. From 21 November 2010, upon the recommendations of the Central Prison Hospital and a medical expert (issued on 17 and 27 September 2010, respectively), he was permanently placed in a cell of 4.7 m2 ground surface per person. He was allowed to spend outside these cells only one hour per day, which corresponded to the statutory daily outdoor stays.
16.  Upon his admission on 18 May 2010 to the penitentiary institution, when a medical check-up was carried out, the applicant indicated his bad health condition (including asthma, chronic sinusitis, gluten and dairy allergies, and a chronic inflammation of the left ear). He was allowed to continue to take the medications brought with him, to obtain products strengthening the immune system, and a gluten and dairy free diet was prescribed for him. Moreover, due to his being overweight (on admission, the applicant weighed 130 kilograms), he was permitted to take daily baths; and, since he had indicated on 10 June 2010 that he would like to lose weight, he was also permitted to use a battery-powered stimulation belt.
17.  From 1 to 3 June 2010 the applicant underwent medical examinations by specialists at the Central Prison Hospital where treatment and medications were prescribed for him. Due to the persistence of his health complaints (including excessive weight loss by that time, which finally amounted to 37 kilograms), on 13 September 2010 he underwent further examinations, and more medications were prescribed. From 17 September to 6 October 2010 he was treated at the Central Prison Hospital, where initially it was found that his pulmonological condition had deteriorated but then further tests showed that a new therapy had improved his condition to some extent.
18.  However, complaining of constantly deteriorating health problems, the applicant repeatedly requested an improvement in the conditions of his detention. In particular he requested larger cell space, a less humid environment, more fresh air and better nutrition. He persistently requested a hearing by the penitentiary supervisory public prosecutor in this context, which was eventually granted on 25 October 2010.
19.  Moreover, the applicant requested to be examined by a medical expert in May 2010 and repeated this request twice. An expert was appointed in September 2010. The expert confirmed the applicant’s serious health problems; however, it was stated that they could be treated within the penal institution.
20.  In November 2010 the applicant’s request for the prolongation of the daily one hour outdoor stay by an additional hour was dismissed on the ground that his health condition had improved. However, in December 2010 the prolongation was permitted, based on the above medical expert opinion according to which more fresh air would improve the applicant’s health.
21.  Meanwhile, on 23 August 2010 the applicant complained about an asthma attack, therefore the following day he was referred to the Central Prison Hospital to undergo further tests. However, he refused to be taken to the hospital because of a coinciding family visit.
22.  The applicant was provided with medication in all the three daily medication distribution rounds (morning, noon and evening) during the whole period of his pre-trial detention. According to the rules, medication must be taken in the presence of the health personnel, not later. The applicant refused to take some medication distributed to him in the morning rounds of 27 and 31 August, 16 September and 28 December 2010.
23.  In addition to the regular visits, in August 2010 extra visits were authorised to the applicant from his common-law wife on the ground that she had become his representative in civil-law matters. However, from 9 November 2010 all meetings and phone calls between them were prohibited due to the perceived risk of collusion during the visits, with the reasoning that they had intended to circumvent their controlled family contact. The prison authorities relied on section 118 (2) of Law-Decree No. 11 of 1979. The defence complained about this measure to the Chief Prosecutor, arguing that any potential lack of control could only be a consequence of the absence of prison personnel at some visits, and not the applicant’s or his visitor’s fault. This complaint remained unanswered.
In this context, additional criminal proceedings were initiated against the applicant on the charge of giving his common-law wife a retainer with false contents with the purpose of circumventing the provisions pertaining to family visits. In the course of these proceedings, the wardens of the penitentiary institutions stated that all the visits had taken place under supervision. The applicant was acquitted of the charge.
24.  During the detention, the applicant did not receive visits from his eleven-year old daughter at all. Although this was not prohibited, the daughter’s own health condition did not allow for such visits. The applicant’s requests for a less coercive measure or a general unlimited phone contact with his daughter based on this fact were to no avail. However, on September 2010 and 7 January 2011 he was granted extra phone time with her, in addition to his regular entitlement of ten minutes three times a week.
25.  The applicant’s pre-trial detention continued until 23 February 2011 when the Regional Court replaced it with house arrest. In view of the applicant’s serious health problems, the Regional Court held that the danger of absconding had lessened to an extent that house arrest was then sufficient.
26.  This measure was in place until 10 June 2011.